{"nrhp_refnum":"84001662","name":"U.S. Post Office","other_names":["Downtown Station","Old Main Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"219 Mills Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"El Paso","county":"El Paso County","state":"TX","lat":31.76020634200006,"lon":-106.48744052899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story sandstone and cast concrete ashlar masonry post office at 219 Mills Avenue in downtown El Paso, Texas, built in 1916 to a design from the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the most noteworthy Beaux Arts buildings in far West Texas, bringing formal Beaux Arts classicism to the region. Its giant-order Ionic portico and domed lobby echo, on a smaller scale, federal buildings in Washington, D.C. It remains a visual landmark and symbol of the federal government in the border city.","narrative":"Built in 1916 at Mills and Stanton streets in downtown El Paso, this two-story post office is a large Beaux Arts public building of sandstone and cast concrete ashlar masonry. Its main facade has an in antis portico with six giant-order Ionic columns, and the principal lobby rises to a paneled, saucer-shaped dome with marble walls and bronze grillwork. A later tile floor, from about 1960, shows mosaics of commemorative postage stamps. Design came from the Supervising Architect of the Treasury, using a standardized plan common to post offices of the era, though the El Paso building was far more imposing than most Texas examples. It was built during a boom that doubled the city's population between 1900 and 1910. The building was listed for bringing formal Beaux Arts classicism to far West Texas. Remodelling in 1928-29, 1956, 1960 and 1966 did not harm its main exteriors or public interiors. Though replaced as the main post office, it remains a downtown landmark.","period_of_significance":"1916-1920","architect_builder":"Builder - Rowland Gilchrist, El Paso; design by the office of the Supervising Architect of the Department of the Treasury","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Occupied and in good condition, though no longer the main post office; the nomination notes the building has had minor remodelling and still retains integrity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.83739-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/53/9718/40971853/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/84001662.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001662/d6ed5a2438-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001662/d6ed5a2438-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Rogelio Rivero Cagigas","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ElPasoTx_US_PostOff04.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Rogelio Rivero Cagigas</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ElPasoTx_US_PostOff04.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"97000885","name":"El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/el-paso-county-water-improvement-district-no-1-97000885/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971853","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Post_Office_(El_Paso)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q65121105"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/el-paso-county/u-s-post-office-84001662/"}